Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 8

Open Access Journal

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148


r rst

Thermal Resistance of Steam Condensation in Horizontal Tube Bundles


Andrzej Grzebieleca,, Artur Rusowicza
a

Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology


21/25 Nowowiejska Street, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland

Abstract
This paper presents calculated heat transfer coefficients for water vapor condensation on horizontal tubes.
The influence of vapor, cooling water and noncondensable gases properties on heat transfer process are presented. Two types of condensers are analyzed. One of them is a power plant condenser; the second is an
absorption refrigerator condenser where the working pair is water and Lithium Bromide (LiBr). Results for
tubes selected from different places in tube banks from both types of condensers are compared.
1. Introduction
Shell and tube heat exchangers are used as absorption refrigerator condensers as well as power plant
condensers. The Institute of Heat Engineering has
been conducting research into shell and tube power
plant condensers for many years now. One result
of these investigations is a numerical model and related computer program for these types of condenser.
The program simulates the behavior of steam vapor in a condenser using the Finite Elements Method
(FEM). Two types of condenser will be compared in
this paper: the well-known power plant condensers
[1] and the absorption refrigerator condenser. At issue is whether the numerical model that has been developed can be used to simulate the work of absorption refrigerator condensers.
The heat transfer rate for a single tube can be represented by Equation 1. Total thermal resistance R is
a sum of partial resistances which represent:
water side thermal resistance Rw ;

Corresponding author
Email addresses:
rrt (Andrzej
Grzebielec), rtrrst (Artur
Rusowicz)

fouling thermal resistance Rd ;


wall resistance R p ;
condensate thermal resistance Rv ;
noncondensable gases thermal resistance Ra .
A
Q = (tv tw )
R

(1)

where
do
Rw + Rd + R p + Ra + Rv
(2)
di
The heat transfer to water flowing inside a tube
is called internal forced convection. The correlation
[2] of heat transfer coefficient hw for turbulent flow
inside a tube is defined by Equation 3.
R=

kw 0.8 0.4
Re Pr
(3)
di
The fouling deposit formation has a significant impact on heat transfer in shell and tube condensers.
The investigation [3] determined that fouling deposit mean heat transfer coefficient hd in power
plant condensers is hd =25 kW/(m2 K). In individual
pipes this value was changed from 10 kW/(m2 K) to
35 kW/(m2 K). Sometimes, in condensers without automatic cleaning, after a long period of last manual
hw = 0.023

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148


cleaning the value of the heat transfer coefficient decreases to 0.5 kW/(m2 K).
The wall resistance for tube R p depends on thermal
conductivity of pipe k p and pipe dimensions. Equation 4 represents wall thermal resistance.
Rp =

do ln

do
di

(4)

2 kp

The amount of noncondensable gases should be


minimized. The best solution is to eliminate all noncondensable gases. In working plants it is impossible
to have steam without these gases. In power plant
condensers and absorption refrigerator condensers
noncondensable gases consist of O2 , N2 , and H2 .
To calculate heat transfer coefficient of noncondensable gases ha the correlation presented in Equation 5
[4] was used.

h v
= N 1/6
(7)
hv (N = 1)
The heat transfer coefficient obtained from the
Nusselt correlation does not take steam velocity into
consideration. If in a shell and tube condenser steam
is flowing with a significant value, Equations 8, 9, 10
[7] will be used to calculate heat transfer coefficient
hv for the tube bundle.
hv =

h sh = 1.26

(5)

p
Da 1/2
Re
do
p ps

p1/3 s

r
tv

2/3

1
(tv tc )1/3

a = 0.52; b = 0.7 for Re < 350


a = 0.82; b = 0.6 for Re 350
In shell and tube condensers the liquid phase (condensate) fully wets the cold surface of the pipe. For
this type of film condensation, the classic Nusselt
correlation for the heat transfer coefficient on the
steam side [5] can be used. Equation 6 represents
correlation for heat transfer coefficient on steam side
hv on a single tube.
kc r (c s ) g do3
(t s tt ) kc c
do

1
Xtt

0.78

(9)

hL

(N 1) + (N)
(N)

(10)

2. Description of condensers

where

hv = 0.725

(8)

where

hgrav = hv (N = 1)
ha =

h2sh + h2grav

0.25

(6)

During condensation on a tube bundle, the condensed water from the above tubes inundates the
tubes below. The mean heat transfer h v coefficient
of the first N rows can be expressed by Equation 7
[6], because the temperature difference between the
tube wall temperature and the saturated temperature
in both condenser types is under 14 K.

The power plant condenser selected here is a typical condenser operating at Belchatow, Poland. The
experimental data in terms of the pressure and temperature for this condenser are available [8], so the
predictions can be compared against the experimental data to validate the proposed numerical simulation [9, 10]. The grid used for the simulation are
presented in Fig. 1 [11]. The velocity vector plot and
contour map of steam pressure are shown in Fig. 1,
too.
The absorption refrigerator condenser is a typical
condenser used in one-stage absorption refrigerators
where the working pair is water and Lithium Bromide (LiBr). The condenser and generator have the
same working area. Cooling water at first cools the
absorber and then flows into the condenser. The geometric and operating parameters for both types of
condensers are given in Table 1.
Fig. 1a shows the grid used for simulation. The
grid shows the tube bundle border. Fig. 1b presents
steam velocity vectors. The vectors show the directions and values of steam velocity. It is possible to
obtain the steam velocity direction and value on every tube. Fig. 1c represents steam pressure changes
inside the condenser. In the area without tubes the

42

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148

6600

6300

6400

6400

6500

6500

6500

6500

6600

6300

6400

6500
6600
6700

a) Grid used for the simulation

b) Steam velocity vectors

c) Contour map of steam pressure

Figure 1: Simulation results of condenser for power generation

43

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148


Table 1: Ranges of parameters for condensers

Parameter:
Tube outside diameter [mm]
Tube wall thickness [mm]
Tube length [mm]
Number of tubes
Number of passes
C.W. Inlet Temperature [o C]
C.W. Outlet Temperature [o C]
Cooling water flow [kg/h]
Steam inlet pressure [Pa]

Absorption refrigerator
condenser
25.4
0.7
6820
145
1
33.33
36.63
424490
7442

velocity and pressure remain almost constant. In the


tube bundle the pressure and steam velocity decrease
significantly.
3. Results
To compare two types of condensers it is important
to know what kind of properties impact heat transfer
in heat exchangers. Then it is possible to compare the
influence of these properties on heat transfer. These
properties are:
pipe material;
cooling water velocity;
cooling water inlet temperature;
steam inlet velocity;
tendency to fouling deposit formation;
amount of noncondensable gases.
There are other properties (i.e. roughness) which
are not discussed in this paper.
Fig. 2 shows the relationship of cooling water velocity to thermal resistance. The influence of this
parameter is similar in both types of condenser. If
cooling water velocity increases, waterside thermal
resistance Rw will decrease.
If waterside thermal resistance Rw decreases, total thermal resistance R decreases too. Fig. 2 illustrates that steam side thermal resistance Rv increases
insignificantly when velocity increases. This situation is a consequence of the gentler cooling water
temperature gradient. Cooling water mean temperature is lower so condensate film thickness is larger
and condensate thermal resistance increases.

Power plant condenser


24
1
9940
3220
1
22.4
30.2
8813000
6620

The faster flow of cooling water means lower thermal resistance, but in working condensers water velocity cannot be increased ad infinitum, because it
has other unwanted effects. When water flows faster,
corrosion and pressure drop will increase. When water from the sea or a lake is used in the condenser, the
velocity of cooling water should be between 1.2 and
2.4 m/s. The higher value is for cleaner water. On
the other side, when velocity is low, fouling deposit
formation will be faster. Optimizing water velocity
is of key importance for shell and tube condensers.
Fig. 3 illustrates the relationship between cooling
water inlet temperature and thermal resistance. In
both types of condenser, when the inlet temperature
of cooling water rises, both thermal resistances waterside Rw and steam side Rv will decrease. The thermal resistance on the steam side decreases due to the
lower temperature difference between the steam and
tube surface temperatures. Condensate film thickness is smaller. But this phenomenon has a very unwanted effect the heat transfer rate decreases to a
great extent. In working plants the engineer has to
choose between lower thermal resistance or a lower
heat transfer rate. In most known plants the inlet temperature of cooling water is 10 to 15 K lower than the
steam vaporization temperature.
Fig. 4 illustrates the relationship between vapor
velocity and thermal resistance. Vapor velocity has
a significant influence on the heat transfer process.
When velocity increases, steam side thermal resistance decreases. This phenomenon is a consequence
of smaller condensate film thickness. Inflowing
steam with faster velocity does not let film form a

44

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148

0.00035

0.00035

0.00030
0.00025
0.00020
0.00015
0.00010

m2 K
W

0.00040

0.00030

thermal resistance

0.00040

m2 K
W

0.00045

thermal resistance

0.00045

0.00025

0.00005

0.00020
0.00015
0.00010
0.00005

0.00000

0.00000
2.0

1.0

3.0

4.0

cooling water velocity

5.0

2.0

1.0

m
s

3.0

cooling water velocity

4.0

5.0

m
s

Figure 2: Relationship of cooling water velocity to thermal resistance. Absorption refrigerator condenser left side. Power plant
condenser right side

Rw

Rd

Rp

0.00035

0.00035

0.00030
0.00025
0.00020
0.00015
0.00010

m2 K
W

0.00040

0.00030

thermal resistance

0.00040

m2 K
W

0.00045

thermal resistance

0.00045

0.00025
0.00020
0.00015
0.00010

0.00005

0.00005

0.00000

0.00000

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Rv

24

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

cooling water inlet temperature C

cooling water inlet temperature C

Figure 3: Relationship between cooling water inlet temperature and thermal resistance. Absorption refrigerator condenser left
side. Power plant condenser right side

Rw

Rd

45

Rp

Rv

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148


0.00045
0.00040

m2 K
W

m2 K
W

0.00035

0.00030

thermal resistance

0.00035

0.00025

0.00025

0.00020

0.00020

0.00015

0.00015

0.00010

0.00010

0.00005

0.00005

0.00000

0.00030

0.00000

m
vapour velocity s

m
vapour velocity s

Figure 4: Relationship between vapor velocity and thermal resistance. Absorption refrigerator condenser left side. Power plant
condenser right side

Rw

Rd

larger thickness. In power plant condensers vapor


velocity is very high (sometimes higher than 10 m/s),
but in absorption refrigerator condensers this phenomenon does not occur.
Fig. 5 shows that noncondensable gases mass fraction has a very important influence on thermal resistance during the condensation process. When noncondensable gases mass fraction increases, thermal
resistance will increase too. When gases mass fraction rises to 0.1 %, gases mass fraction thermal resistance will be higher than all other resistances put
together. In working installations it is impermissible
to let noncondensable gases mass fraction grow to
this value. In an absorption refrigerator noncondensable gases mass fraction has other consequences too.
This phenomenon inhibits steam production in the
generator and steam absorption in the LiBr solution.
The pressure in the evaporator rises. The vaporization temperature rises too. This could be caused by
not obtaining the required temperature in the evaporator. Noncondensable gases mass fraction increases
the corrosion process too, because of its compounds.
Rust changes the chemical composition of water and
accentuates the corrosion process. When noncondensable gases mass fraction is elevated in a plant,
it can destroy an absorption refrigerator in the space
of just a few months. Accordingly, most commercial
absorption refrigerators chillers have a degasifier to

Rp

Rv

decrease noncondensable gases mass fraction.


Fig. 6 illustrates the relationship between deposit
thermal resistance and thermal resistance. It shows
that when the fouling heat transfer coefficient decreases, total thermal resistance will go up. If the
pipes are not cleaned, fouling deposit thermal resistance will soon constitute a major part of total thermal resistance. The main water compounds that increases scale formation are:
calcium carbonate;
calcium phosphate;
magnesium salts;
silica.
It is not only water compounds have an influence
on deposit formation. Temperature, alkalinity, biological growth, influence of other materials impact
fouling deposit formation.
4. Conclusions
The thermal resistances are similar in both types
of condenser. If water velocity rises, the total thermal resistance falls. It is worthwhile bearing in mind
the key role played by non-condensable gases mass
fraction on the total heat transfer coefficient and on
whole system performance, especially in absorption
refrigerators. It is important to prepare water for use
if the water is drawn from the sea or a lake. Poorly

46

0.00100

0.00090

0.00090

0.00080

0.00080

0.00070

0.00070

m2 K
W

0.00100

0.00060

thermal resistance

thermal resistance

m2 K
W

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148

0.00050
0.00040
0.00030
0.00020
0.00010

0.00060
0.00050
0.00040
0.00030
0.00020
0.00010

0.00000

0.00000

0.00001

0.0001

0.001

0.00001

kgair
ncondensable gases mass fraction
kg

0.0001

0.001

kgair
ncondensable gases mass fraction
kg

Figure 5: Relationship between noncondensable gases mass fraction and thermal resistance. Absorption refrigerator condenser
left side. Power plant condenser right side

Rd

Rp

Ra

0.00100

0.00090

0.00090

0.00080

0.00080

0.00070

0.00070

m2 K
W

0.00100

0.00060

thermal resistance

thermal resistance

m2 K
W

Rw

0.00050
0.00040
0.00030
0.00020
0.00010

0.00060
0.00050
0.00040
0.00030
0.00020
0.00010

0.00000

0.00001

Rv

0.00000

0.0001

0.001

0.00001

m2 K
fouling thermal resistance
W

0.0001

0.001

m2 K
fouling thermal resistance
W

Figure 6: Relationship between fouling deposit thermal resistance and thermal resistance. Absorption refrigerator condenser left
side. Power plant condenser right side

Rw

Rd

47

Rp

Rv

Journal of Power Technologies 91 (1) (2011) 4148


prepared water potentiates the problem of fouling deposit formation to such a degree that deposit thermal
resistance can become a main part of total thermal
resistance alarmingly quickly.
This paper shows that both types of condensers
under consideration work in very similar conditions
and that the previously developed numerical model
can be used equally for absorption refrigeration condensers.
References
[1] R. E. Putman, Steam surface condensers: Basic principles, performance monitoring and maintenance, ASME
PRESS, NY.
[2] F. W. Dittus, L. M. K. Boelter, Heat transfer in automobile
radiators of the tubular type, University of California at
Berkeley, Publications in Engineering 2 (1930) 443461.
[3] A. Rusowicz, Analysis of fouling for tubes in a power
plant condenser (in Polish), XII Sympozjum Wymiany
Ciepa i Masy, AGH Krakw (2004) 753761.
[4] L. D. Berman, S. N. Fuks, Mass transfer in condensers
with horizontal tube when the steam contains air, Teploenergetika Vol. 5, No.8 (1958) 6674.
[5] W. Nusselt, Die oberflashenkondensation des wasserdampfes.
[6] D. Q. Kern, Mathematical development of loading in horizontal condensers, AIChE Journal 4 (1958) 157160.
[7] J. M. McNaught, Two-phase forced convection heattransfer during condensation on horizontal tube bundles,
Proc. 7th International Heat Transfer Conference, Munich
Vol. 5 (1982) 125131.
[8] K. Brodowicz, A. Czaplicki, Badanie charakterystyk
cieplno przepywowych kondensatora 360 MW (in
Polish), Politechnika Warszawska, Instytut Techniki
Cieplnej, Warszawa.
[9] M. M. Prieto, I. M. Suarez, E. Montanes, Analysis of
the thermal performance of a church window steam condenser for different operational conditions using three
models, Applied Thermal Engineering No.23 (2003) 163
178.
[10] I. S. Ramn, M. P. Gonzlez, Numerical study of the performance of a church window tube bundle condenser, Int.
J. Therm. Sci. 40 (2001) 195204.
[11] K. Brodowicz, K. M. Ostrowski, A. Rusowicz,
D. Wierzbicki, Influence of numerical viscosity on
correctness of power condenser calculation (in Polish), Biuletyn Instytutu Techniki Cieplnej Politechniki
Warszawskiej Vol. 80.

Nomenclature
Aheat transfer area, m2
c p specific heat of condensate, J/kg/K

di tube inside diameter, m


do tube outside diameter, m
Da diffusion coefficient of air in steam, m2 /s
ggravitational acceleration, m/s2
ha noncondensable gases heat transfer coefficient,
W/m2 /K
hd fouling heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 /K
hgrav gravity controlled heat transfer coefficient,
W/m2 /K
hL liquid film heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 /K
hv steam side heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 /K
h v mean heat transfer coefficient for tube bundle,
W/m2 /K
h sh vapor shear controlled heat transfer coefficient,
W/m2 /K
hw water side heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 /K
k p thermal conductivity of pipe material, W/m/K
kc thermal conductivity of condensate, W/m/K
kw thermal conductivity of water, W/m/K
Ltube length, m
NNth tube row in the bundle
ptotal pressure, Pa
p s steam partial pressure, Pa

Qheat
transfer rate, W
rlatent heat of condensation, J/kg
r effective
latent
heat
of
condensation,
r 1 + 0.68 c p (t s tt ) /r
Rtotal thermal resistance, m2 K/W
Ra noncondensable gases thermal resistance, 1/ha
Rd fouling thermal resistance, 1/hd
R p wall resistance, m2 K/W
Rv condensate thermal resistance, 1/hv
Rw water side thermal resistance, 1/hw
ReRe Reynolds number, s v s do / s
Res two phase Reynolds number, c v s do /c
xvapor quality - vapor mass flow rate/total -mass
flow rate
Xtt Lockhart-Martinelli parameter, ((1 x) /x)0.9
( s /c )0.5 (c / s )0.1
empirical exponent, 0.13 for triangular tube layouts, 0.22 for square tube layouts
condensation rate from one tube onto tube below,
(N do hv (t s tt )) /r
c condensate density, kg/m3
s steam density, kg/m3
s dynamic viscosity of steam, N s/m2
s kinematic viscosity of steam, m2 /s

48

Вам также может понравиться